|  | | | Customer Reviews: | | | Average Customer Review:
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Very good Porter collection, wide range of artists and musical styles Sep 28, 2009
This collection presents a wide array of top jazz and jazz/pop artists performing some of Cole Porter's best songs, in recordings from 1928 to 1962.
The recordings range from late 20s and early 30s renditions that were probably some of the first recordings of those songs (Irving Aaronson & His Commanders on the excellent "Let's Misbehave"; Fred Astaire's masterful "Night and Day," which he introduced on Broadway) TO 40s swing and 50s pop (very young Frank Sinatra on "Night and Day"; Roy Rogers' "Don't Fence Me In"; Rosemary Clooney on a latin-tinged "You Do Something To Me") TO straight jazz and jazz/pop from the 50s and early 60s (Lena Horne, "Just One of Those Things"; Sonny Rollins, "You Do Something to Me").
The tracks on this CD aren't chronologically ordered by recording date, so, for example, you jump from Paul Desmond's 1962 sax/strings arrangmement of "I've Got You Under My Skin" back to Tommy Dorsey's late big-band version of "I Get a Kick Out of You" from 1950. While it can be fun to go from one style to another and then back around again, I also like programming the disc to play according to the recording dates, which produces a more consistent development of jazz-based styles.
I understand how the significant variations in style and genre brought on by the broad range of recording dates may dismay folks who were looking for a collection of, maybe, the earliest versions of each of these songs, which would have been more consistent in style. If you want something that's more strictly chronological and historical, I'd strongly recommend looking for a used copy of the Smithsonian's excellent (but out-of-print) 4-CD Cole Porter box set from the early 90s, or maybe one of the 3-CD boxes that the Indiana Historical Society and Koch issued (although the cuts are arranged by the date of the song, not the dates of the recordings). There's also "Cole Sings Porter," out-of-print but available used, which has Porter's own recordings of his songs. Or, look for a single-artist Porter collection that will be more stylistically consistent, like the excellent Sinatra/Porter disc on Sony/Columbia, one of Bobby Short's Porter albums, or Ella Fitzgerald's "Cole Porter Songbook."
One of the unusual aspects of the "De Lovely" disc is that it has Cole Porter's original 1934 voice/piano recordings of "Anything Goes" and "You're The Top" with an instrumental backing added in 2004 by Vince Giordano and His Nighthawks. I usually don't like tampering with original recordings, but here, Giordano has done an outstanding job of embellishing Porter's bare-bones recordings with historically accurate arrangements and a recording production that comes close to blending seamlessly with the originals. Since I have the unembellished recordings in the Smithsonian box set mentioned above, I like having the Porter/Giordano "collaborations" here.
Although Porter is remembered primarily for his work in the 30s and 40s, he lived into the 60s, so he was indeed around when all of the renditions on this disc were recorded. I don't know whether he actually did listen to these artists, but he might well have admired their undoubtedly superb artistry. Although some of the recordings here are instrumental and therefore omit Porter's marvelous lyrics, I'd like to think that Porter might have enjoyed jazz renditions of his songs, like his peer George Gershwin did.
These are all great artists, so if you want a collection that shows the wide-ranging jazz and pop styles that have been applied to Cole Porter's songs, this is a very good one.
 Turn back the clock! Mar 29, 2009
Is it possible to wear out a C.D. ? If so, I am getting close. This is a fantastic collect of Cole Porter's music - such memorable songs for ever!
If you like anything about Cole Porter, you will LOVE this collection !
 BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD! Feb 08, 2009
On the face of it, much care has been take in the production of this CD; a glossy liner note penned by Will Friedwald, embellished by photos of Porter, his RCA Victor contract, a record wrapper, and the reproduction of the scroll Victor label on the CD itself. Add to that two of Porter's own recordings to which Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks have overlaid an orchestral accompaniment, and vocals by Lena Horne, Dinah Shore, Frank Sinatra, Al Bowlly, Fred Astaire, and Rosemary Clooney and you have the basis for an excellent tribute to the supreme lyricist/composer.
But that is not enough. "The Authentic Cole Porter Collection" needs the words as well as the music, and no fewer than seven of the nineteen tracks are lacking that vital ingredient. I've no objection to any jazz artist playing just the melody, least of all Artie Shaw with "Begin The Beguine" and Coleman Hawkins with "I Love Paris", but the inclusion also of Shorty Rodgers, Sonny Rollins, Paul Desmond, Tommy Dorsey, and Esquivel (who?), is surely under-egging the pudding.
To add insult to injury, the claim is made "What's special about this collection is that the selections ... are ... the performances that he himself heard when the songs were still fresh". Oh no they're not, to put it politely. You also need to get the words right when you do use them. It was "Delicious" and "Delightful" and "Delirious" but "De Lovely" it was not.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Simply . . . DeLovely May 13, 2007
The biggest surprrise: each song is by the original artist! The CD label even bears the old RCA Victor Trade Mark . . . and THAT goes back quite a ways! But all the arrangements and artists are wonderful to hear from
Cole Porter, himself, to Sinatra, Lena Horne, Rosemary Clooney, and others, all singing the "old favorites" as done originally by themselves! And . . . there's Artie Shaw, Tommy Dorsey and other favorites of those bygone days. If you saw the Movie "It's Delovely" and liked it, then you'll LOVE this CD: "IT;S DeLovely: The Authentic Dole Porter Collection."
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Anything they could do, Cole Porter could do better... May 02, 2007
Cole Porter remains one of the brightest stars of the 20th century and this CD shows us why. You get a whopping 19 tracks on just one CD and the variety of these numbers reinforces the belief that Porter's music could be found in just about any genre of music.
The CD opens with two classic Porter numbers entitled "Anything Goes" and "You're The Top." Although these songs are well performed with terrific musical arrangements they are actually reconstructions of what these tunes would have sounded like if Porter were recording them today. They let us hear what Porter probably would have sounded like were he recording today using older equipment; but please make a note that this "reenactment" of Cole Porter singing to his own music may not work for some people.
Other gems on this CD include "Let's Misbehave" performed by Irving Anderson and His Commanders; the great Lena Horne singing so sweetly her renditions of "Just One Of Those Things" and "From This Moment On" and the incomparable Frank Sinatra crooning "Night And Day."
"I Love Paris" gets the royal treatment by Coleman Hawkins who plays that tenor saxophone to perfection! Manny Albam and His Orchestra provide the rest of the flawless musical arrangement for this instrumental track. In addition, fans of Cole Porter music will surely love Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra performing "I Get A Kick Out Of You." Moreover, one of the three bonus tracks features Fred Astaire singing "Night And Day" very well. Another bonus track features Rosemary Clooney delivering a powerful rendition of "You Do Something To Me" while Perez Prado and His Orchestra bat out a winning Latin style musical arrangement. Great!
The liner notes include an essay about Cole Porter and his career in the arts by Will Friedwald; and you see portions of Porter's recording contract with RCA Victor as part of the art work. You get all the song credits and there are very nice black and white pictures of Cole Porter himself, too.
Overall, Cole Porter fans will consider this CD a "must-have" for their collections. People who enjoy classic pop vocals will enjoy this CD as well.
|
| |
|
![Up (4 Disc Combo Pack with Digital Copy and DVD) [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51V%2Beipy8-L._SL75_.jpg "Up (4 Disc Combo Pack with Digital Copy and DVD) [Blu-ray]")
![Across the Universe [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51T24FuHPEL._SL75_.jpg "Across the Universe [Blu-ray]")
![Underworld Trilogy (Underworld / Underworld: Evolution / Underworld: Rise of the Lycans) [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51F27VzUl%2BL._SL75_.jpg "Underworld Trilogy (Underworld / Underworld: Evolution / Underworld: Rise of the Lycans) [Blu-ray]")
![Shakira: Oral Fixation Tour [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51RQUEopdlL._SL75_.jpg "Shakira: Oral Fixation Tour [Blu-ray]")
